Morning After
by WaltD
Summary: Post Last Knight, the morning after, a new beginning. First of a series, followed by "Trace Elements"


_Forever Knight – the Continuing Story._

_The characters in Forever Knight were created by James Parriott and Barney Cohen and are the property of Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star. The stories here are fan fiction, in which Nick and Natalie survive "Last Knight", the series finale. Also, Vachon survived Divia in "Ashes to Ashes". This story may be archived wherever by whomever._

_Wade Everett is a good-looking, capable, smart-ass, and gay homicide detective who's sometimes full of himself. He's temporarily assigned to the 96th and Nick while Nick's partner, Tracy (who also survived LK) recuperates. He's found out what Nick is. _

**Morning **1/1 Walt Doherty

_Yesterdays -- Streisand_

The Night Before

The events of "Last Knight" are told of course in that episode. Briefly, however, Tracy had been shot and later died in the hospital, Nick felt responsible and was depressed, Natalie also received some bad news, and together they decided to try making love, Natalie made Nick promise to bring her over if he took too much, he did but didn't want to subject her to being a vampire. LaCroix showed up and Nick asked him to stake him fatally. In the closing scene, he appears to be starting to.

This is the perfect first page of a TV seasonal two part cliff-hanger. We don't actually see LaCroix stake Nick, so he might not have. We have only Nick's word that he took too much blood from Natalie, so he could be wrong. We do get told that Tracy died and her body is shown being removed from the hospital room. Ah, but is it her?

The Morning After

_There's got to be a morning after  
Morning After – Poseidon Adventure, Maureen McGovern_

The story picks up with the sun having risen, Nick is unconscious in his loft, Natalie is in the hospital, LaCroix is miserable at the Raven, Tracy is alive but in serious condition in ICU, Vachon is watching over her, and Captain Reese is worried wondering where Nick is and what happened.

These events immediately follow "Last Knight", and precede Pshrink by about three – four months.

Wakie! Wakie! -- That morning

_You know the nearer your destination  
The more you're slip slidin' away  
-- Slip, Slidin' Away, Paul Simon_

In the Loft:_  
_Nick lay unconscious on the floor of his loft, out cold for hours, oblivious to anything else that happened. He was willing to share his life with Natalie, but not his 'unlife'. LaCroix left him hurt on the floor there,

At the Hospital_  
_Natalie was unconscious – sound asleep in fact -- recuperating. She had been willing to share either his life _or_ his 'unlife'. She had been brought into the hospital early that morning, and by that evening she had been given several pints of her blood type. She was in no danger and was resting quietly. She looked only a little worse for the wear.

_Miss Otis regrets  
She's unable to lunch today  
-- Miss Otis Regrets, Cole Porter_

_"I'm sorry, detective, but she specifically said that she did NOT want to see YOU," __said the nurse at the nursing station on the floor where Natalie had been taken.  
"But—  
"No, 'but's', detective. Now, get out of here or I'll call security and have you escorted __off the premises."  
Giving in to the formidable and intense matronly nurse, Nick said, "Well, at least __tell her I stopped by."  
With that, he turned and left._

At the Raven:_  
_LaCroix wished he were unconscious at least as far as last night's developments were concerned. Apparently earlier, an older, severe looking gentleman had brought Natalie to the hospital and left as soon as he saw that she was being given proper care. He was conscious that the descriptions of the man fit him very well, but he had a solid alibi. He was at the Raven, the bar he owned and operated, according to several workers and customers there. He was very consciously fit to be tied at Nick. The stupid, stupid boy! (If you can call an 800 year old vampire, a boy.) He was furious at Nick, he didn't want to see him at all. What was he thinking? What had Natalie done to him. Still, Nick was someone who LaCroix didn't want to share.

Outside Her Room:_  
_Javier Vachon, Tracy's good vampire friend, was conscious of how extensive her injuries were, and he was becoming conscious of his feeling for her. He lurked outside in the shadows worrying about her; should bring her across? Where was Knight, what role was he playing here? Vachon worried about Tracy, because, apparently, he really did care.

In the ICU_  
_Tracy, in intensive care as a result of yesterday's events, was unconscious; in fact, semi-comatose, but this was a blessing in that it allowed her to slowly (and painlessly at least to her unconscious body) mend. She couldn't have wanted to see anyone even if she had had the desire. She dreamt of Nick, the shooting, her father, all her anxieties, but really for the moment she was beyond care.

At the Division:_  
_Captain Reese was consciously wondering where his most able detective was. Unlike LaCroix, he wanted to see his chief detective. He was afraid of losing his best detective. Heck, he'd even take responsibility for part of the shooting; i.e., if it would help, he would assume a share.

Anger Non-Management – the characters' feelings

_I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire  
I Went Down, Down, Down  
And The Flames Went Higher  
-- Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash_

Nick was angry with himself for letting things get so out of hand. He should have known better, he should have taken precautions, he should have – he should have . . . . He woke up in his loft much later that day with the most horrendous headache of his long life, wondering what the heck happened..

Natalie was angry that it was LaCroix who had saved her, she was angry that Nick had lost control, she was angry with herself for not being able to stop Nick in time. She knew what had happened.

LaCroix was angry at Nick for letting things go so far. [It never occurred to him that this was partly his own fault since he had never taught Nick any control techniques.] He was angry that the interfering Dr. Lambert had put him in the position of 'having to save' her. He was angry with himself for actually doing it. He was angry about everything that had happened.

Vachon _was_ angry over the fact that Tracy had been hurt. He had to admit that his feelings for her were perhaps more complicated than simple friendship, that Nick was somehow in the midst of it, and that he didn't know what was happening.

Tracy might have been angry about being shot and about Nick's not trusting her, but since she was unconscious and still in critical condition, she wasn't really angry about anything or worried about anything that was happening.

Captain Reese was angry towards Commissioner Vetter for being an ass, at I.A. for being more stubborn and obnoxious than usual, and with Nick for not having contacted him within the last 24 hours. Hell, he thought angrily, he was going to have his Xanax prescription renewed. He wondered why all this was happening.

Fugue State – A verbal fugue ensues

_Fugue - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer_

**Nick** still couldn't see Natalie. He had tried to see her at the morgue a week later, but was stopped at the reception desk. He wasn't permitted in the building. His anger had subsided, but now his depression was taking hold. He left the morgue more depressed than ever over his state of mind and over **Natalie**.

**Natalie **wouldn't see Nick. She sent him a note: "Please don't see me. I'm too angry about everything to deal with it now. Later, in a couple of weeks, maybe." Her anger was subsiding, but slowly. This depressed Nick even more. In addition, she had been doubly angry that it had been LaCroix who had rescued her! Of all people, **LaCroix**!

**LaCroix **refused to see Nick. He made it a point to actively avoid him. He was angry that he had been put into the position he was in, and blamed Nick, of course. Whenever Nick came into the Raven, LaCroix disappeared. He was afraid he would totally lose control with his "son" and maybe he _would _stake him! He also saw the young (400+!) Spaniard, Vachon, moping around the Raven. What was wrong, he thought, with the young **Vachon**?

**Vachon **was looking for Nick. He saw what was going on and grew less angry at Nick, who after all had no idea Tracy had been near him. He was torn between staying near Tracy and looking for Knight. He was angry at the perp and wanted to kill him himself, and if the man hadn't died in the police station, he would have died of a mysterious neck wound had Vachon had anything to do with it. Uncertain about what to do, Vachon stuck near **Tracy**.

**Tracy **didn't see Nick, Vachon, or anyone since she was unconscious. She would have been angry with Vachon if he had killed the perp. She would want the man to be held for justice. She would think it would be expected of her by her father and by the **Captain**.

**Captain **Reese wanted to see Nick. He wasn't angry with Nick, he was worried about him. What to do with a man who refuses to talk about himself? Why had Nick practically gone into hiding? What had possessed Tracy to follow Nick? Hmmmm, didn't I.A. have resident shrink on hand? Maybe he could get them to unobtrusively evaluate **Nick**.

**Nick** still couldn't see Natalie. He tried to see her at the . . . .

The Fugue_ – The fugue itself  
Fugue for six not necessarily harmonious voices_

_Everybody's talking at me.  
I don't hear a word they're saying,  
-- Everybody's Talkin', Harry Nilsson _

1st voice: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miscellaneous Chorus:  
. . . . . **Nick**_ still couldn't see _Nat_._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._Did you see what he did?  
_. . . . . . . . . . _He was not __**angry**__, __**but**__ depressed . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._Not on purpose!?  
_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _he was __**sad**__ about what happened_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _It still hurts._

_2__nd__ voice__:  
_. . . . . **Natalie**_ wouldn't see _Nick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._I'll bet that hurt!  
_. . . . . . . . . . _She was __**less angry**__, but . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._What hurt?  
_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _She was__**still mad**__ about what happened_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._The Neck! _

_3__rd__ voice__:  
_. . . . . **LaCroix**_ refused to see _Nick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _He left in a hurry.  
_. . . . . . . . . . _He was __**more angry**_, and _. . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._He's mad?  
_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _he was __**mad**__dened about what happened _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ . . .Yeah!_

_4__th__ voice__:  
_. . . . . **Vachon**_ did see it wasn't the fault of _Nick. . . . . . . . . . ._She was shot, that hurt, too!  
_. . . . . . . . . . _He was __**less angry**__with__Nick, but still . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _Will she survive?  
_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _he __**was glad**__ Tracy happened to survive_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._Maybe!_

_5__th__ voice__:  
_. . . . . **Tracy**_ wasn't seeing anything, including _Nick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _Talk about out of it!  
_. . . . . . . . . . _She was __**not angry**__ at all, but . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._Shot happens!  
_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _she was __**oblivious**__ of all that happened_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._But shot? _

_6__th__ voice__:  
_. . . . . **Reese**_ really wanted to see _Nick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _Did he look in the right place?  
_. . . . . . . . . . _He_ _shouldn't have_ _**been angry,**__ but . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _Apparently not!  
_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _his people, he __**cared**__ what happened._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._He will! _

- - - - - -


End file.
